In the field of ophthalmology, technologies for generating an eye model (model of a subject's eye) are known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology to generate an eye model for the purpose of specification of an appropriate intraocular lens (IOL) for the patient. The technology includes measurement of the shape of the anterior and posterior surfaces of the cornea, measurement of the axial length, measurement of the thickness and position of the crystalline lens, and measurement of the thickness of the cornea. Based on these measured values and an IOL model, the technology creates an eye model for the subject's eye. Here, the parameter of the subject's eye is measured by a known device.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication (Translation of PCT Application) No. 2005-516641
With a conventional technology such as described above, there is a possibility that an eye model with high accuracy may not be acquired. For example, when the object is a healthy eye, each of the parameters can be measured with a high degree of accuracy. However, an eye with disease or an eye that has received LASIK surgery in the past, unignorable errors could intervene in the measurements of the parameters. As a result, an eye model based thereon also turns out to include errors. It is needless to say that a simulation (for example, selection and design of an IOL, identification of the insertion position of an IOL) using such an eye model is inappropriate. Here, it should be noted that eyes subjected to eye model generation often have disease.
Further, the conventional technology is configured only to measure values of the parameters of the subject's eye, and it is not capable of obtaining the structure of the subject's eye. Therefore, with the conventional technology, it is not possible to determine whether the measurement values correctly reflect the characteristics of the subject's eye. For example, in the measurement of the axial length, which is the distance from the apex of the cornea to the surface of the retina (to the fovea centralis), it is not possible to determine whether one end of the line segment representing axial length is located at the apex of the cornea and the other end is located at the fovea centralis. Thus, in the case where measurement has been performed in a state in which the line of sight is deviated, the measurement values including errors are used for generating an eye model. In addition, as there is no way to find such facts afterwards, the generated eye model cannot be corrected.
Furthermore, the conventional technology generates an eye model based solely on the measurement values of the parameters, and therefore the conventional technology cannot visualize the actual structure of the subject's eye. As a result, in the case of a simulation by the use of such an eye model, a user ends up having to heavily rely on his/her own experience or skills. This means that the amount of labor and time to be endured on the part of the user remains extensive.